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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/28335015">Messy and Out of Control</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/florahart/pseuds/florahart'>florahart</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Grace and Frankie (TV)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Brianna is 14 there is no actual sex here, Gen, canon-typical frankness about sex and body things, discussion of the word bitch, mention of sex during periods, set roughly 1995, teenager troubles</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-12-26</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-12-26</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-10 18:47:18</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>General Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>1,094</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/28335015</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/florahart/pseuds/florahart</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Talking to her mother about cramps is terrible; Brianna goes to hang out with Frankie for the afternoon.  Frankie doesn't judge her.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Frankie Bergstein &amp; Brianna Hanson</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>8</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>20</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Collections:</b></td><td>Yuletide Madness 2020</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>Messy and Out of Control</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><ul class="associations">
      <li>For <a href="https://archiveofourown.org/users/GotTheSilver/gifts">GotTheSilver</a>.</li>



    </ul><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>Note at end if you want more detail: this is a story involving period cramps and things that might make them feel better.</p>
<p>I observed this prompt just today, so this is a quicklike quickie.  :)</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>“The thing you have to remember, Brianna,” Frankie winds things up with, “is that being a bitch and being a good person are not mutually exclusive.  Women aren’t told that enough.”</p>
<p>--</p>
<p>Brianna has escaped her parents’ house and come here because talking to her mother about her period is terrible and she doesn’t know why complaining to Frankie is better, but it, well, it just is.  Maybe it’s that Frankie never tells her to suck it up and be presentable.  </p>
<p>It’s weird, because all in all Brianna <i>likes</i> being presentable.  She likes looking like she has her shit together, likes having a plan, likes being in control of her day.  Likes <i>choosing</i> whether she’s going to be a slacker.  </p>
<p>Currently, it feels like her body is a whirlwind of bad ideas and hormones throwing rocks from the sidelines.  There is nothing about that that feels in control, and sure, she can <i>mostly</i> deal with, like, the schedule part; this is what the Pill is for.  But everything else is just messy and awful.</p>
<p>Periods are the worst.</p>
<p>--</p>
<p>This conversation started with Frankie saying she thinks the best cure for cramps is sex, which, Brianna one, isn’t sure she buys that and two, she’s fourteen and yes, she knows girls who do, but she’s not, it’s not, “I guess I don’t want to give anyone that much power over my body,” is what she comes up with.</p>
<p>“Oh yeah?”  Frankie narrows her eyes a little.  “Tell me more about that.”</p>
<p>“About what?  That I want to solve my own cramps and not rely on some horny idiot who, okay, from what I understand, the ones who can legally do it with me in California are mostly not that competent.”</p>
<p>“And you prefer competence in your partners.”</p>
<p>“What?  I mean, I guess I’d want someone to be good at it, is all I’m saying?  If the point is specifically to make me feel better.”</p>
<p>“Fair.  So you want competence, but also you don’t want to give up power over your body.”  Frankie rummages in her enormous bag for a joint, lights it up, and puffs thoughtfully for a minute.  “Well, you can always take matters into your own hands.”</p>
<p>Brianna is not prepared to discuss period masturbation with her parents’ friend, regardless of whether she’s known her her entire life.  She changes the subject.  “Everyone else I know self-medicates with chocolate.”</p>
<p>--</p>
<p>Of course, while her own mother would have cutting opinions about chocolate, zits, and Brianna’s waistline, at least she actually would probably have chocolate.  Or ice cream.</p>
<p>Frankie has carob.  And something made of soy and rice milk and bananas that is frozen, but is very much not satisfactory.</p>
<p>Brianna considers whether Frankie is stoned enough to not notice if Brianna finds another joint in her bag.  That would probably help more than the organic desolation she found in the freezer.</p>
<p>“You know, it’s good that you’re thinking about controlling who has authority over your body,” Frankie says all of a sudden.  </p>
<p>Brianna’s just surprised she’s still following the thread.  She seems pretty …well, this is Frankie; it’s hard to tell what her sobriety level is, ever.  “I just feel like that’s the sort of thing it’s hard to get back,” she says.  “Obviously it’s always my body either way, but I dunno, it seems like a slippery slope.”</p>
<p>“What’s a slippery slope?” Coyote asks.  He’s evidently come in from the back; Brianna didn’t even know he was there.  He looks in the freezer.  “Oh, ice cream!”</p>
<p>“Nothing,” Brianna says, but Frankie shakes her head.</p>
<p>“Not nothing.  Brianna very wisely wants to make sure not to give over control of her body during sex.”</p>
<p>Coyote’s eyes go wide, and Brianna sighs.  Frankie doesn’t judge her, but she also has no sense of discretion.  Like at all.  “It’s seriously nothing, Coyote,” she says.  </p>
<p>“Oh, good.  I thought maybe this was like, alien probes or something.  Which I think you should avoid, for the record.”  He scoops soy frozen item into a bowl and takes it with him upstairs.  </p>
<p>--</p>
<p>The phone rings, and Frankie looks around.  Which is ridiculous; the phone is on the wall, where it always is.  Frankie won’t let Sol get the cordless kind; something about microwaves and brain cancer.  Brianna goes and answers.  “Bergstein residence.”</p>
<p>It’s her mom.</p>
<p>She hands the phone to Frankie because getting yelled at for coming here without leaving a note is pointless and also please, like this isn’t the first place they’d look for her.</p>
<p>Frankie listens, makes yapyap motions with her free hand, says uh-huh a couple of times, listens more, then says, “Well, she was just really struggling with cramps so I told her she could curl up on the couch.  What?  No, I did not give her Midol.  Chemical trash.”  There’s a pause. “Well, the FDA is run by G-men, and you know how I feel about them.  MM-hm.   Okay.  I’ll tell her.”</p>
<p>She hangs up.  “Your mother thinks you should just poison yourself.  Also, she expects you home by dark.”</p>
<p>“Of course she does.  She also thinks women should just mind-over-matter themselves into all the uncomfortable shit we’re supposed to wear.”</p>
<p>Frankie makes a giant raspberry noise.  “Your mother, who has never met a martini she didn’t want to be best friends with, thinks you should mind-over-matter your cramps.  Ha.”  She brings Brianna a bowl of the freezer crime and sits down.  “So are you feeling any better?”</p>
<p>Brianna groans.  “I don’t know.  Maybe.  I just.  I feel like such an out of body bitch when it’s the time of the month, and I hate it.  I look nice enough, and then I’m terrible, and then, I don’t know.  Ugh.”  She takes a bite of the monstrosity in the bowl.  At least it’s sort of sweet.</p>
<p>“Well, so what’s wrong with being a bitch?”</p>
<p>Brianna looks at her.  “What?”</p>
<p>“What’s wrong with being a bitch?  What does that even mean?”</p>
<p>“Asshole?  Jerk?  Bad person?”</p>
<p>Frankie snorts and takes the non-ice cream, taking a bite herself.  “Mm, this is good.  No.  You should be exactly who you feel like being, Brianna.”</p>
<p>--</p>
<p>“It’s getting dark,” Brianna says.  “Mom’s gonna have a cow.”</p>
<p>“Eh, let her.”</p>
<p>“Nah, I’ll go home.  I feel better,” Brianna says getting off the couch and showing her feet into her shoes.  “Thanks, Aunt Frankie.”</p>
<p>“Any time, kid.  You want some carob, to go?”</p>
<p>“Ugh, no.  No offense, but carob is terrible.”</p>
<p>“Hey!”</p>
<p>“You said be who I am.  I am a person who hates carob.  That’s okay, right?”</p>
<p>Frankie grins.  “Atta girl.”</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Request said no unrequested bodily fluids.  I feel like this canon is super upfront about things like periods.  I hope therefore that this does not constitute unrequested fluids.  It's not graphic at all, just, if it would ick you to think about period sex (that is not had, just, the concept comes up) then this is not for you.</p></blockquote></div></div>
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